1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods and apparatus to provide for the automatic adjustment of computer-generated audio based on an audio profile of a user.
2. Description of the Related Art
A large percentage of the population suffers from some type of hearing disorder or hearing loss. As a greater number of people live longer due to advances in health care, many of these people suffer degenerative effects of aging on the hearing process, such as the inability to filter out background noise, the inability to distinguish speech, tinnitus, and the general fall off of frequency response starting at 4 Hz. Many types of hearing aids have been developed to combat these situations. A device called the Radiant Beam Array is worn around the neck as a necklace and includes an array of six microprocessors and a digital signal processor (DSP). The Starkey Cetera and Phonak Claro use a DSP to provide for altering voice over noise, similar to the way the Dolby noise reduction system works in audio. The Widex Senso-Plus uses a DSP to provide time domain processing to separate speech from background noise. All of these systems need to be configured or programmed before use, then the device is inserted in the ear.
These systems are reactive. They attempt to filter the ambient audio information to eliminate noise and provide better separation between the desired audio information and the background noise. In some cases, these devices are preprogrammed for a particular type of environment or user, and others claim to react in real time. None of these devices are proactive. Each device must be programmed specifically for the individual. If the user loses the device, he must obtain a replacement with the same characteristics. These devices also don't work well with computer systems which emit audio suitable for mass consumption in standard frequencies, sampling rates, and nominal amplitudes.